How to Be a Less Annoying About Taking Travel Photos

We love taking photos to chronicle our (mis)adventures. We also love judging people who love taking photos of their bodies placed in places they shouldn’t be. 

There are better ways to move through the world. There are also less annoying ways to take photos of yourself when you’re on vacation.

What I’ll get into here are some mostly helpful (some just sassy) ways to be a better tourist, take less obtrusive photos, and keep the respect of passersby.

Leave no trace (of yourself).

When you’re out exploring the best national parks, there are some rules you should abide by. The big one is LEAVE NO TRACE.

That means picking up your trash if you have yourself a woodland picnic, keeping rock cairns firmly on your vision board where they belong, and sticking to marked trails. 

Your footprints where they don’t belong mess with the experience of others out there trying to get out of their heads and into the wild. 

Just because you want a photo without all the warning signs around you doesn’t mean that nature cares about what you want. The priority here should be making sure these beautiful places you’re photographing are there for the next person. 

Stay on the trails the park service staff works so hard to maintain. Don’t ignore those “fragile ecosystem” signs with your gear just because the lighting is better over there for your amateur landscape photography.

The parks are super impressive in all of the spots you’re allowed. I promise.

Pay attention to signage.

Fragile ecosystems aside, that signage you’re ignoring is also there to protect you.

Case in point: You’re at Yellowstone National Park, taking a boardwalk stroll around the country’s most alluring thermal system. You likely need to walk over a young lady or two attempting full-body selfies across said boardwalks.

You also notice several individuals hopping around the hot pots in search of a photograph that doesn’t include the park’s barriers in their shots. 

You know, the barriers that are keeping you from being melted alive like this guy. The guy just wanted a little rub a dub dub and his liquid dreams ended in quite a horrific way. 

READ MORE: Steal my itinerary for visiting Yellowstone safely AND responsibly.

People are taking their Instagram game so seriously that they’re acting perilously in hopes that their photo is the one that gets more clicks than the other guy’s. It’s dangerous, but it’s also annoying. 

Oh, you think you don’t have to follow said signage because you’re a local?

That’s not a thing.

During a family trip to Hawaii, we encountered some gals beyond the obvious signage at a waterfall we had hiked to. They were out there splashing around, collecting river water and rocks for their bedside rock collections, and generally being awful.

When alerted to the signage, and the additional signage warning them of catching a bacteria in that water, they told us that they were locals.

That’s not a thing when it comes to danger or exposing yourself to things you shouldn’t like leptospirosis.

Drone only where drones are allowed.

Often you’ll see an obvious sign that says you’re not allowed to fly drones in a certain area, or it could be a sign outlining restrictions around drone use.

Those aren’t suggestions. They may be there for protection of nesting birds, for example. Or the place you’re visiting just doesn’t like drones. It doesn’t matter.

Follow the rules. 

There are also regulations in place for drone use depending on what you’re using the footage for. No matter the purpose, you need to register your drone and pass a test to make sure that you know what you’re doing.

Seriously, you can’t just pull it out of the box and go to town.

If you’re looking to make some money or gain some sponsors from your hot aerial skills, you’ll need to get certified first. You don’t want to get fined over that thing.

Be respectful of your surroundings.

Your photo game can also be disrespectful if you’re not super self-aware, particularly when it’s happening at a place that evokes some serious emotion within its visitors. 

The most egregious example of this was from our visit to Auschwitz II–Birkenau. We saw a group of young people taking glamour shot after glamour shot draped across the tracks of the death train used to cart people to the gas chambers. 

There’s nothing sexy about the death train, dummies. 

As a first-generation Pole with family connections to that part of history, I seethed on the inside hoping that they’d gain some perspective at some point in their vapid lives. 

This also applies to dropping your trousers where your naked behind isn’t welcome. Learn the customs of that final destination. Your freedoms at home may not apply everywhere.

If you still choose to do your own thing, it could mean you’re banned from a place. You can’t love a place while disrespecting that place at the same time.

The view is just as nice without you.

Once in a while Southern California has what’s called a super bloom.

Fun fact: It’s an above-average season of floral activity that can happen in the desert after a winter season of above-average rain and runoff from mountain snow. It’s truly a sight to behold.

The desert floor is blanketed in red, yellow, purple, and orange, which makes it quite popular with ladies looking for flower field photos in large, floppy hats. 

I’m sorry, it’s predominantly women who do this.

Yes, there are trails you can take to the best spots that boast super blooms. Anza-Borrego Desert State Park is a personal favorite.

READ MORE: I mention that one in my guide to the best day trips from San Diego.

But she doesn’t want that, does she? She wants to lie amongst the blooms, shielding her eyes from the sunshine, with flowers in her hair.

The problem is, she’s destroying the very thing she proclaims is so beautiful on her social media. Posting your lack of etiquette out in the world just gives other dum dums the go-ahead to do the same, and that’s not cool.

Keep a distance from wildlife.

Every high season in the national parks, you hear about someone being gored or chased or eaten by something because they got too close to the wildlife.

This is despite extensive signage and warnings throughout our park system about the awful things that can happen when you get a little too close.

Accidents happen, and there are times when you come upon an animal you didn’t mean to.

More often than not, incidents that do happen have to do with human stupidity.

If you see an animal baby shivering on the side of the road, you should not put it in the trunk of your car. If you think that a wild animal is hungry, you should not feed it.

If you think your family at home would love the rad selfie you’re planning with that beast mere feet behind you, good luck with that.

Fun fact: You are in their house, not the opposite.

If you’re all, “But I love all the animals!” I’ll say it this way: Keeping a distance from wildlife doesn’t just keep you safe. It keeps the animals safe, too.

One of my biggest wildlife pet peeves while living in San Diego was watching what people would do to sea lions at La Jolla Cove. I almost said tourists, but I really don’t think it’s possible that it’s only tourists that would do this. 

It would happen all the time.

Someone would decide they want a selfie with a sea lion because they wanted photos as evidence of their crimes I guess.

So they’d approach one of the creatures inevitably hanging out there. It’s just a spot the animals like throughout the year, despite the torture humans put them through. 

That person would get too close, and the animal would start barking. They’d start flapping their flippers, trying to retreat, realizing they’re cornered with the cliffs at their back.

All of a sudden you’ve got a giant, stressed-out animal in front of you. Most won’t attack. They’d rather suffer an injury and try to escape than get into an altercation with some bro looking to boost his follower count. Animals have died from this kind of harassment.

Share public spaces.

This always happens at the prime tourist spots. You have a group of people who feel like this is the best place to have a photo shoot.

They take the saucy pics, and then the ones where they’re jumping in the air. Or perhaps another sultry one. This one’s giving me fake laugh vibes. Bust out that wide-angle lens.

Now you need one where you’re walking away, but holding your arm out to your lover behind you. Maybe you need one with heart hands. Oh, now all the girls need a few group shots.

Never mind the fact that there is a crowd of people around them looking to take one, perhaps two photos in that spot, as it’s prime real estate for wherever they are. This may be news to some people out there, but some folks take photos for the memories.

Note: I know that if I didn’t take pictures at some places, I would have forgotten about them by now.

I believe you when you tell me that your followers demand this. I understand the idea of giving your fans what they want.

That’s actually not true. Can you move now?

Do your thing. Just be self-aware.

I’m not here just to laugh at the expense of travel influencers. I’m not here to begrudge pics of yourself in places that are pure loveliness.

Take nice pictures of yourself. That’s great. Some of y’all are killing it out there. I’m all about photo tutorials and online photography courses that teach me about how different angles can highlight my backside.

Is there a class for that, by the way?

Before you settle in for all the hot looks, though, it’s important to recognize that standards aren’t in place for everyone but you. You don’t get to make up the rules because it feels right on the other side of the yellow tape.

You don’t get to monopolize a place while regular folks queue up behind you because you’re just not sure if the last 63 shots on your memory card were flattering. You’re not here for a session with professional photographers.

Note: I know that because you’re holding an iPhone camera and a selfie stick.

I don’t even care if you’re pulling out the tripod because you’re learning how to take good timer pics or are waiting for that sunset. Whatever. I take a ton of pictures, and I’ll even take a photo of you if you ask.

But I’m not setting up shop in front of the most popular monument in the city for 20 minutes. I’m not trampling over native brush to see what’s just beyond the river bend when there’s a trail right there that doesn’t come with poison ivy.

Let’s just do our best, k?

Sometimes I take photos out there that result in eye-rolls. It’s fine. I like taking pictures that are cheesy at times.

I make sure though that I’m not getting in the way and understand the etiquette in the destination I’m visiting. We can all do better out there and still boast a solid social media game.